Daughter of the Empire
by Ryuuko1
Summary: AU. She had misty, distant memories of a time before she lived with her father, but those were insignificant; what fate could be better than to be the daughter and apprentice of Lord Vader?


**Author**: Sure, I liked the idea of Sith!Leia. A lot. So, when I was a younger writer, I wrote the first draft to this-i look back on it now and laugh ruefully at how far I have come. So, here it is again, albeit with slightly more mature writing (if I may say so myself). But, enough! Enjoy, comment if you will, and thanks for swinging by. :)

**Disclaimer**: hahahahaha

**~Prologue~**

"Lord Vader?"

Darth Vader turned to look at the trembling peon who stood a respectful distance away, a slight sheen of sweat sticking the hair beneath the man's hat to his forehead. "What?" he asked flatly. He disliked being disturbed, especially when brooding—and Alderaan was quite a beautiful planet to brood at.

"A-a-agents of yours have located your target."

"Oh?" Vader asked, since a cock of the eyebrow could not longer ask the question for him—which was incredibly inconvenient. He'd have to find a way to express that in body language, but he was still getting used to the shell he now lived in, so it might take some time.

"Your d-daughter. We've found her—or believe that we've found her," the peon half-stuttered.

"_Believe_ that you've found her?"

The peon swallowed hard and nodded. "She is with the Organas, sir. Like you suspected she would be."

Vader's posture went rigid, a trill of both joy and anxiety working its way through his body. "We shall see," he said. "I am going to retrieve her."

Darth Vader pushed the peon aside and stalked quickly away, his breathing heavier than usual with excitement.

_A daughter! A _daughter. _I have a daughter! A child! _My_ child. Oh, Padme, I will take care of her with the utmost love and devotion in your memory. She will not want for anything—especially as the daughter of the Emperor's right hand._

His steps slowed with caution as the presence of the Emperor dawned on him:

_Do I want him to know about my daughter?_

He continued to stalk through the corridors of the spaceship, mulling over the situation he found himself in.

_I want my daughter with me—no, I _need_ my daughter with me. She is the only worthwhile thing in my life now that..._ _She will be _mine. _The Emperor will, unfortunately, have to know, but, knowing him, he won't bother involving himself in the raising of a young girl._

Vader stopped in front of his personal shuttle and looked to the Stormtroopers who guarded it and nodded slightly. "Is it prepared for departure?"

"Always, Lord Vader," came the crisp reply.

"Good," Vader said shortly. "I'm leaving now."

As Vader walked into the ship, a Stormtrooper began to follow, only to be thrown back by a Force-push from Vader. "I am going alone. Don't bother to tell the Emperor my whereabouts—he won't care anyway."

The shuttle door closed behind him as he made his way to the controls—mostly machine he may be, but that didn't dull his skill at flying; it was one of the few pleasures left in his life; although, now with the presence of his daughter, he had something else to live for and love with all his might.

Vader guided the shuttle out of the Destroyer and into space, a feeling of lightness descending on him. While he enjoyed the power he wielded, while he loved seeing whole worlds bow before his might and majesty, there was a freedom in flying that could never be replaced. He turned his small, personal shuttle towards the bright blue ball that was Alderaan and extended his senses as he approached.

There it was—a small, faint signature, but one nonetheless. He would simply have to follow the pull of the Force to find his daughter, for there was no way that she wouldn't have talent; it was simply up to him to train her, and train her he would.

He passed unnoticed into the atmosphere and eventually found a place to land not far from his destination. He, admittedly, had a limited amount of time to get his daughter, but he wouldn't feel any particular remorse in bullying his way out of Alderaan—he took orders only from himself and, when the mood struck him, his master. He was going to bring his daughter home where she belonged—with him—regardless of what was done to stop him.

He easily found his way to the Organa's residence, and while he was unable to move in complete silence anymore, people were easily bent to his influence through the Force and droids were quickly silenced through a different but equally effective use of the power he had at his command.

He continued to follow the tug on the Force that was achingly, wonderfully kin to his own, navigating the sweeping, beautiful halls with ease. He paused in front of the door where the pull was the strongest and listened with both physical and metaphysical senses. When he determined that there was only one life-form and one droid he opened the door with the Force, and silenced the droid with a quiet crunch of collapsing metal, which caused the small figure in the bed to turn over restlessly and sit up enough to look at him as he entered, the door hissing shut behind him.

She was beautiful, more beautiful than anything else he had ever seen in the universe.

"Who?" she asked in a small, young voice that tremored from sleep and surprise.

Vader walked over and knelt next to her bed so he was on eye level with her, and was both proud and surprised that she didn't flinch away—instead, she seemed curious, and she reached out to touch the cold material of the mask that hid his deformed and maligned appearance, her fingers tracing the sweeping, jagged curves.

"How old are you?" he asked once she had finished her exploration of his mask.

She held up three fingers. "Two!" she replied proudly, and Vader smiled lovingly inside his helmet.

"You're quite the big girl, aren't you?"

She grinned, and any initial surprise and fear she might have felt was obviously evaporating in the face of something as interesting as he was.

"My name is Anakin Skywalker—although most call me Darth Vader anymore.

"Das Badah?" she repeated, then pointed at herself and proclaimed: "Leia!"

The remnants of Vader's eyebrows snapped up inside his helmet. They hadn't really discussed what they would name the children once they were born—there simply hadn't been time for such a discussion. So now, to hear the name that his wife had chosen for their child…

"That's a very pretty name," he said warmly. "Now, Leia, you're going to come with me."

She seemed briefly puzzled, but didn't fight when he picked her up and held her against his chest. "Where're we goin?"

Vader looked down at her as she gazed up at him, her small hands tangling in the folds of his cloak. "Home."

She tilted her head and frowned delicately, the expression endearing and adorable enough to make Vader lightly run his hand over Leia's hair. "These people were just…borrowing you. You're _my_ daughter, so you're coming home with me."

She blinked up at him and snuggled against him, digging her face into his chest. "Okay."

Vader felt his heart nearly burst at how she fell quickly, deeply asleep to the rhythm of his respirator, her implicit trust sending warm shivers through his soul.

He looked around the room, pulled the cover off her bed—a teddy bear coming with it—and wrapped it around his daughter, squeezing the stuffed animal between their bodies.

The door behind him opened and he silenced the surprised yell by throwing the person across the hall and into the far wall before he stepped out and began to walk back the way he had come, his cloak billowing out behind him.

Somehow the household had been alerted to his presence, but they presented little threat, as a purely pacifist planet carried no true weapons that were effective against him—and anyway, they wouldn't risk hitting the princess he carried lovingly in his padded arms.

"Stop!"

Vader turned enough to look over his shoulder and rolled his eyes inside his helmet before tossing his would-be attacker back into the others that followed him and another gesture before him swiped the hall clear.

Leia stirred at the commotion, but Vader soothed her to sleep using the Force, continuing his leisurely pace down the corridors, stepping over and around unconscious bodies (with a few dead ones mingled in—it didn't take much to snap a person's neck).

"_You_!"

Vader looked towards the familiar voice and smiled coldly inside his helmet. "Senator Organa," he replied smoothly without stopping in his transit.

"Give her back! She is _our_ daughter."

Vader whirled and snarled, picking up Organa using the Force, holding him a foot off the floor as an invisible hand clenched around his throat, the man struggling in midair, trying to pry away fingers that didn't exist.

"She is _mine_, Senator. _My wife_ carried her. She is mine, blood and bone, and I'm not going to give her back to someone who has no claim on her whatsoever," he snarled and flung the Alderaan native against a wall, knocking him unconscious—and hopefully killing him for having the audacity for trying to stand between him and what was his.

He continued the rest of the way to his shuttle, Leia wrapped up tightly against him, her soft, small warmth against him a comfort and a reminder of how much he had gained from a moment of clarity during his dreams.

_I will love you forever, Leia. You will be my daughter, a daughter of the Empire, of the Sith, and you will be feared and loved throughout the entire galaxy._

He gestured and boarded his shuttle, settled Leia on his lap as he heard people running up to him and took off as the shuttle door closed, headed back into the cold vastness of space, mind already darting ahead to determine how he would make a young girl like Leia comfortable in his quarters on a Destroyer.


End file.
